Psychoacousticgeography

Few things are as evocative of a country's nature as its native music. The pulse of a people can be found in their folk music, whether it's the burly bonhomie of the polka or the transcendental calm of Tibetan singing bowls. But there are countries that have disappeared in the mists of time, and countries that may never have existed — surely they had music to call their own. The exotic sounds of Champa and Mu and other places that are no more (or never were) are the stuff of HEARding Cats Collective's new performance, Ethnic Muzik for Non-Existent Countries. The trio of Tory Z Starbuck (electric koto), Rich O'Donnell (Asian gongs and tam-tam) and Deb Summers (amplified yang qin) improvise music that has been lost forever, folding and manipulating their instruments in real-time via synthesizer and assorted electronics. Hear the national anthem of nowhere, performed once and forgotten for another slice of forever, at 8 p.m. at Off Broadway (3509 Lemp Avenue; www.heardingcatscollective.org). Tickets are $5 to $8.
Thu., Feb. 18, 2010